Proper training and use of firearms for any shooter is necessary. Sports and recreational shooting enthusiasts, competitive shooters, hunters, police, law enforcement, security personnel, bodyguards, the military, and para-military all rely on various targetry systems to perfect their technique, accuracy, reaction times, as well as to practice handling and safe usage of their firearms.
Some targetry systems found in the prior art comprise complex and advanced systems. Some targetry systems found in the prior art require large amounts of space, infrastructure and/or machinery. Some targetry systems found in the prior art are very expensive. Some targetry systems found in the prior art are relatively small. Some targetry systems found in the prior art utilize simulated firearms such as light guns.
Several systems use a plurality of sensors that detect firearm accuracy and range through photoelectric, photodetection, ultrasonic sensors, laser transmitters, or infrared technology. Some use these technologies for advanced training purposes, such as avoiding return fire. Others use these technologies, in combination with computers, for computer-generated response automatic aiming to facilitate high accuracy while attached to a moving vehicle, aircraft, or warship.
Many targetry systems also employ projectors and large, stationary screens to simulate various scenarios in which a firearm might be used. More advanced systems use cameras in combination with projectors for shot detection and to implement a scoring system through which a user can measure improvements in their skill.
At a more basic level, some of the prior art teaches of systems often referred to as “rail systems” or “target retrievers.” These comprise “trolleys” that move a target—typically a pre-printed cardboard screen—towards and away from the shooter to practice shooting at different distances and different such targets. The trolley most often moves along a rail or a track, and can also be attached to a cable-pulley system. Sometimes, the trolleys employ an internal motor which rotates the target cardboard, so as to present either “shoot” or “no-shoot” targets.
Such pre-printed targets suffer from a number of problems. First such pre-printed targets at most can only provide two images, as such targets only have two major surfaces. Thus such targets are very limited in their capacity of the types of images that may be associated with a given target. Second, as color(s) are added to the pre-printed image, cost goes up associated with manufacturing such pre-printed targets. Similarly, the greater the image clarity requires greater printing costs as well as more costly source material that will not bleed newly printed images, which also adds to manufacturing costs. Third, use of such pre-printed targets, requires more frequent target replacement, as a shooter may be bored of a given target, and this increases the wear and tear upon the carrier of the targets which gets deployed and retracted more frequently. It would be desirable to instead project target images upon a target screen, wherein such projected images may be static and/or dynamic, and which may change in a variety of ways. More realistic and higher resolution target images may be achieved with projectors and screens as compared to pre-printed targets, with much great cost savings. Use of projectors with screens may also provide targets that may react to strikes, in way that pre-printed targets can never replicate.
Further, use of projectors with screens may eliminate the mechanically more complex present system of turning targets in order to present “shoot” or “no-shoot” targets to the shooter. Additionally, use of such projectors with screens may provide for faster switching “shoot” or “no-shoot” targets which may then provide for improving shooter reaction times.
The prior art also does not provide for at least a one to one correspondence between at least one camera per a given target. By incorporating at least one camera per a given target, each shooter may improve their accuracy, performance, and/or strikes, without having to frequently retract and deploy a target to see such results. Likewise, by incorporating at least one camera per a given target, each shooter may better their accuracy, performance, and/or strikes, without having to frequently use an independent observing tool, like binoculars, to see their results. And third party observers, such as instructors and/or judges may also benefit from use of such camera-to-target pairings.
The prior art also fails to teach use of movable projectors coupled with movable screens. Rather in the prior art, the projectors are generally fixed; and/or both the projector and the screen are fixed. If a given projector does not track in movement along with a given movable screen, then that projector's ability to project quality images becomes severely limited (e.g., limited in the focus and/or color brightness reflected from a given screen).
There is a need in the art for movable carriers (such as projector carriers and/or screen carriers). Such movable carriers may be incorporated into shooting systems that utilize projector(s) and target rotational means (in some embodiments) and with shot detection methods (in some embodiments) that may allow for diverse target images and/or reactive targets—of either videos or stationary images. There's a need for systems with the abovementioned features that do not require one or more of the mechanical sophistication, cost, and large amount of space necessary for some of the targetry systems found in the prior art. Shooting systems described herein may exist on a singular rail (or more or no such rail) and may be used indoors or outdoors; and does not sacrifice the realism that is missing in the prior art using pre-printed targets, light guns or other simulated firearms.
Further, there is a need for trolleys of reduced mechanics that implements near instantaneous change of target or scenario without a motorized rotational/turning device.
Additionally, there is a need for systems that utilize wireless technology, such as, but not limited to, 2-way radios, antennas, WiFi, and/or cellular to allow a user (e.g., a shooter, an instructor, an observer, and/or a judge) to communicate, control, and/or interact with the system through a monitor, a screen, a TV, a tablet computing device, a smartphone, a laptop, a server, a computer, user input device, and/or the like.
It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.